A technical person knows about packaging for storing automotive parts, such as brake disks and/or drums, clutch disks, for automotive vehicles, mainly to protect them against external agents, contacts with other objects and facilitate their transportation, as it concerns automotive components made of high density materials, resulting in heavy parts, which exercise a great deal of force against the walls of their packaging, having to offer sufficient mechanical resistance for the transportation and stacking of the packaging.
As an example of this packaging, we can mention Brazilian patent document MU7701997-0, filed on Jul. 31, 1997, originally entitled “ARRANGEMENT APPLIED IN PACKAGING FOR BRAKE DISKS”, which described packaging endowed with a cover and base, which can be coupled together so as to allow parts to be stored inside. However, one of the disadvantages of this packaging lies in the fact that it lacks structural elements which give it greater resistance. Thus, it is necessary to use a large quantity of material to manufacture each item of packaging, in order for it to have mechanical resistance to handle the automotive parts maintained inside it.
Aiming at resolving these unsatisfactory aspects the applicant developed a product concept, object of Brazilian patent application BR 10 2015 007398 4, filed on Apr. 7, 2015, entitled “PACKAGING WITH AIR PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE”, which presents packaging that, among other advantages, has structural features capable of providing greater mechanical resistance, allowing the stacking and transportation of this packaging with greater safety, also reducing the quantity of material required to produce each item of packaging, when compared with other existing packaging.
However, for greater protection of the parts transported, they are individually insulated with suitable material to absorb impact forces, such as bubble wrap, cardboard, polystyrene or suchlike. Such insulation is necessary to avoid the parts contained inside each item of packaging undergoing damage from hitting each other.
Thus, in an inappropriate manner, this packaging uses a greater amount of raw material and labor, to protect the parts inside it, as each part needs to be insulated separately, by suitable material as mentioned beforehand, leading to reduced efficiency in the production process and increased total product cost.
Another disadvantage of this packaging is the physical space occupied by such protection material inside the packaging, resulting from the requirement to use packaging of larger dimensions, which is capable of housing simultaneously the parts and their protective material. Thus, there also occurs an increase in the inventory and transportation costs of this packaging, due to the greater volume required.
Thus, despite the advances introduced in the packaging with the air pressure relief valve proposed by Brazilian patent application BR 10 2015 007398 4, the applicant, continuing with its studies regarding the issue, perceived the need to develop an extending and separating element for packaging, which is designed to be connectable between the packaging base and cover, being endowed with a central disk capable of physically separating the parts to be stored inside the packaging, preventing blows occurring when it is moved.
Thus, an objective of the present invention is to provide an extending and separating element for packaging capable of avoiding parts arranged inside the packaging hitting each other, thereby dispensing with the requirement for individual insulation of each one of the parts.
Advantageously, the extending and separating element for packaging dispenses with the use of other protection materials for individual insulation of the parts arranged inside the packaging, leading to production and logistical gains of the end product.
Another objective of the present invention, besides allowing suitable arrangement of two parts in the same packaging, is to offer greater mechanical resistance to the assembled unit, base, extending and separating element, allowing the stacking and transportation of this packaging with greater safety.